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submitted 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) by kersploosh@sh.itjust.works to c/comicstrips@lemmy.world

An old comic that feels oh so relevant in this tumultuous election year.

Source: https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/an-important-distinction

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[-] Bilbo_Haggins@lemm.ee 85 points 4 months ago

I take issue with the first panel.

To me, patriotism is "I'm going to work on my house because I love the people who live in it and I want them all to have the best house."

If you start from the assumption that your country is the "best" that's nationalism and straying too close to the roots of xenophobia.

[-] Aceticon@lemmy.world 19 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

Yeah, it's maybe the greatest difference between Patriotism and Nationalism: the former is all about "I'll work to make my house the best house" whilst the latter is about "Yield to me, as I am from the best house".

Patriots want their country to be the best country, Nationalist want to extract gains from living in what they think is the best country.

You'll notice that the only things Nationalists ever do for their country are things like "stopping others from coming here" or "celebrating the greatness of their country", which aren't at all about making the country better.

[-] Wanderer@lemm.ee 2 points 4 months ago

It could be the best for you.

You seem to be implying all people and countries are on a scale moving closer to some single ideal.

But it's perfectly valid to think your house is the best and want it to be different to someone else's house, who also thinks their house is the best.

[-] Bilbo_Haggins@lemm.ee 5 points 4 months ago

You seem to be implying all people and countries are on a scale moving closer to some single ideal.

I mean that's definitely how some people interpret it but at least for me, patriotism encompasses the idea that my country should be best for me and the people in it but that other people in other countries get to think the same thing about their country and work towards their own version of "best."

But I'm not gonna argue that everyone does patriotism this way because that's clearly not the case ๐Ÿ™ƒ plenty of "patriots" out there willing to wreck their own country in a war over bringing their own ideals to a different place.

[-] WhiskyTangoFoxtrot@lemmy.world 0 points 4 months ago

Words are defined by how they're used.

this post was submitted on 02 Jul 2024
872 points (93.3% liked)

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